Netflix Market About To Get Crowded

from the no-surprise-there dept

Really not a surprise at all, but it seems that Netflix is about to find some deep pocketed competitors entering their space. We had already mentioned how Blockbuster was testing out a subscription fee rental plan in certain markets, but they're also going to compete directly with yet-to-be-announced plans to offer rentals through the mail. At the same time, Wal-Mart has decided to get into the space too, and will soon be offering a subscription plan for DVD rentals. Finally, Columbia House, famous for their music and movie buying subscription service, is looking around for a partner (possibly Netflix) to do subscription rentals as well. It's clearly a growing market, so this isn't much of a surprise. Netflix says their early lead will help them stay on top, but who knows if that's really true. If the competition forces them to start dropping their prices, it's unclear how long Netflix can stick around.